An Ironclad Introduction
The weathered shop seemed to blend in right with the scenery among the street's stone walkway. It was squeezed between two taller buildings, the stone-laid building seeming to gasp for air amongst its concrete neighbors. The sign was old, some letters had become illegible in the peeling paint, but the steel made emblem stood the test of time for the store by the name of "Forged In Flames". The panes of the large window was clean however, and the articles on display were clearly handmade for the most prestigious quality. There was no theme to them or color coordination and they were crammed together rather than artistically arranged, but it gave the shop the "hidden trove" feel that Kalina had come to admire from this gem hidden within Hibiscus Village. Kalina pushed the door open gently causing a bell to ring as she smiled at the smell of polished metal greeting her nose. The store was far longer than it was wide, but shelving were packed in to span across almost all of the floor space it had to offer. It was pristine though. Each isle categorized neatly into various armor styles, weaponry, and both ferrous and nonferrous constructs. It had every sort of equipment a mage could want packed into this rustic feeling building that was kept up by an old gent in tweeds that appeared to be of the same era as his antique wares. Kalina had come to this mecca of merchandise in search of a unique weapon or armor that could help give her an edge in the upcoming S Class Trials for the local guild of Archer's Cross. She had been stressing out a bit in the past few weeks, training tirelessly to hone her skills up to the levels she knew her comrades are already at. She makes her way down the isle labelled "gauntlets" to see if there was any new upgrades she could make to her sonokinetic gauntlets when she spotted a familiar jade haired girl. Tilting her head to the side to get a better look at the profile she speaks slowly, "Seneca..?" Said jade-haired woman had come to this shop for a similar reason as the brunette who had spotted her; it was hidden, rustic, and hardly attractive on the outside. All of these qualities would surely deter most people who paraded about the streets, and the few times she had visited the shop, it had been empty or very close to it every time. It was almost like a private haven, she enjoyed comparing the armaments to the ones she had to see what improvements could be made, as well as converse with the shopkeeper about the pros and cons of various metals and materials. Despite liking her guild the grand majority of the time, she valued her independent time as well and the bubbly woman adjacent to her had certainly infringed upon that time. However, she wasn't going to allow the minor setback to ruin her day, she would simply take it in stride and work with what she was given. Lifting her finger from the brass gauntlets she had been eyeing, she turned her head to look at Kalina. "Hello Kalina, I'm surprised to see you," she says, shifting again to fully face her. "I haven't even seen Brick for Brains here so I had assumed it was pretty much unknown. What brings you here?" she asks. Kalina skips up with a smile across her face at the sight of her familiar guildmate, putting her arms out to give her a hug; an almost programmed action in Kalina whenever she spies a familiar face. She quickly pulls them up and over to have her fingers run through her hair, playing it off as an awkward sweeping motion to putting up her hair into a ponytail, as she remembers that the taller girl has a dislike of being hugged. A slight laugh escapes her lips as she hears the rather common nickname for one of their fellow guildmates pop up in her statements. “Well I doubt Cedar would be able to find this place as it is tucked away pretty nicely; also because he somehow always has his head stuck up in the clouds... Anyways, I have actually been here a few times now, I have even brought a few different metals in for the blacksmith to help make some custom stuff…” She says as she twirls one of her rings on her finger in a bit of a nervous habit. “I actually came here to look for something that will help give me an edge in the upcoming S Class Trials…I know the Master hasn’t announced when it is exactly, but I need all the time I can get to be able to catch up to the level you guys are at…” She says as she casts her eyes downward momentarily. She shakes the thoughts from her head as a crooked smile is painted on her soft features, “What about you Seneca? Are you getting ready for the trials too? Though I highly doubt someone of your skill would need much prep time.” Seneca quirks an eyebrow up at Kalina's attempt to play off the hug she attempted to initiate, though she says nothing of it to preserve Kalina's dignity. She chuckles a bit when Kalina speaks of Cedar, not expecting her to continue the teasing, though she wasn't one to judge said characteristic considering her own upbringing. "If there's one thing Cedar always seems aware of, it's weaponry, but I suppose you're right about his moronic tendencies." She purses her lips in thought when Kalina says she's been here a few times, wondering how they had managed to never cross paths in the tiny shop until now. "Odd that we haven't seen each other in here before," she comments, thinking little of the minute movement of the brunette's fingers. It wasn't abnormal that people got nervous in her presence so she'd become accustomed to, though still quite aware of, it whenever it happened. She was tall, taller than the average male even, and she wasn't all that friendly-looking either, with a habit of looking entirely apathetic when nothing interested her, to the point where she looked rather pissed off at times. When Kalina mentions the upcoming S-Class Trials, Seneca shrugs, looking down at the top of the smaller girl's downturned head. "Valencia wouldn't ask you to participate if she thought you were far behind, or that you were incapable of catching up if you were. The Inari's are known for their lightning fast movements, intelligence, and adaptability. I've heard quite a bit about the youngest, the tragedy that struck her. From the way you've bounced back, I expect that you are nothing but a prodigy." In truth, she saw Kalina as a threat in the trials, her core magic choice opposite her own, and while Seneca had the elemental advantage, it was never beneficial to depend on that alone. "I was looking to see if I could shape up my gauntlets, at the very least get touch-ups since the metal has begun tarnish over a few years. I've also been looking to add something new to my arsenal, but nothing suits my varying magics and style that I've seen. It's not so much for the trials as it is to continue furthering myself. But, I digress, the upcoming trials certainly have given me more motivation to improve." She wiggles her toes on the concrete beneath her feet, getting restless now that her thoughts have stopped going a mile-a-minute in favor of the conversation with the other girl. She itched to test the gauntlets inches from her grasp but she withheld to respect her companion, knowing that if she began to lose focus of her, she would eventually begin to block her out altogether, which would not help to improve her relationship with her guildmate. Kalina nods her head about the oddity of their paths having never crossed before, seeing as there was very few people she would run into in the store of unimaginable goods. Kalina's cheeks blush a slight red with the compliments Seneca voices about her, never having been good at taking compliments as she was always taught to never think too highly of her skill because "there is always some situation in which an ant could overpower an ox" thinking back to the odd words of her martial arts teacher. In honesty she thought that she had the hardest challenges to overcome in these trials against two of her biggest threats.That is why she had been working on finding some equipment to help level the field a bit more, but she had ran into a wall it seems. Seneca's words spark her interest in the fact that Seneca was also looking for a new piece of equipment to suit her style as well, and in the spirit of friendly cooperation Kalina thought they could each benefit from running into each other here. "Well call it fate, or what have you, but it seems like we are both hunting for something to help further ourselves as mages. Perhaps we can help each other out here? Any idea's you have to improve your gauntlets?" Kalina says as she moves down the shelves where she spies a section of hidden blade attachments for the gauntlets. She picks up two very similar looking gauntlet blades nearby and looks them over carefully. She taps the two together and holds each one up to her ears afterwards with a quizzical expression as she listens for the differences in the resonate frequencies of the two objects, using it to determine the more suitably forged metal that will not break as easy under strain. She tosses the one in her right hand back on the shelves and keeps one on her left as she moves back down towards Seneca. "I have gauntlets of my own, so perhaps I can help with ideas? I'm also alright at picking out strong metals, mostly because my family deals with various kinds of metal, so weaponry was something I kind of grew up around." Kalina says passively as she presses down on one of the rings on her fingers that seem to requip a yellow gauntlet onto her fist instantly. Kalina moves one of the covers on the top to see how the hidden blade would be incorporated into her own gauntlet as she continues to talk. "I know we will be going against each other and stuff in the trials, so I understand if you don't want me to be around to see the weaponry you pick out. But we do all ultimately serve the same guild, so I think it's best to help each other grow stronger, ya know?" She says with a cheeky smile that causes her eyes to squint. Seneca nods along to Kalina's first request, taking another few moments to ponder over her following question as she returned her attention to the shelves. "I am not against adding knives to my gauntlets but they don't really fit my style." She returns her attention to the brass gauntlets, focusing on the slots in the metal where blades could be added. "Projectiles would work better and it wouldn't be hard to integrate them into my style of combat," she continues on. A brief flash of green occurs before a gauntlet appears on Seneca's free hand, the silver metal gleaming in the low light of the shop. "The Wind Magic the gauntlets possess would make firing projectiles easy, but I have no idea what I would fire. Explosive and chemical-laced projectiles would probably prove most useful, but I am open to any suggestions." She looks at the yellow gauntlet that Kalina equips, studying every groove and bump. She realized that the brunette's armament was much thicker than her own, though she was unconcerned with the outcome of hitting them head-on with her own, quite confident in the durability of her own. "That's a unique color," she notes, wondering what materials it was made of but not wanting to be intrusive. Additionally, if Kalina were to return the question, Seneca would not be able to give her a desirable answer, as the only known component was a piece of her soul. "I don't mind your help, nor do I mind lending a hand to a guild mate. Like you said, we ultimately serve the same cause and it would be foolish to turn down your offer when you're so knowledgeable on the subject." Kalina smiles at the mention of her gauntlets color, the brightness of it always catching others eyes. The agreement of letting Kalina help her out made her happy, for, to be honest, she wanted to get to know the girl a bit better so she can ask if she would like to be part of a team for the S Class Trials. Seneca's strength was easy to see, and so she thought having Senca with her would be the best shot that she had at passing the trials. "Well if you were to do projectiles, I would think a mix of perhaps explosives and laced needles would be nice. Would give a nice surprise to anyone who happened to be on the receiving end of it." She laughed out. Bringing up her metal to the cashier she paid for it while sending off a text to her brother about bringing him the knife over to modify later on. "You would need a highly heat resistant metal to maintain its integrity for the explosives though. That way it would shard out upon exploding,.. She says mindlessly as she presses down on her ring to activate its register function and register the knife, making it disappear into the second dimension for later pulling. "So, do you think we should look around here to find your equipment? Perhaps we can test it out afterward?" She says excitedly. As Kalina begins to give her input, Seneca listens intently, scanning over the gleaming metal of her gauntlet while the brunette spoke. She nods along to her suggestions, following her to the cashier as she continued to speak. There were a few nicks but thankfully pouring her magic into the metal allowed it to mend itself, the ornate designs in prime condition in the few seconds it took Kalina to purchase her knives. She breathed a sigh, feeling the drain, though it seemed not entirely related to eternano, something she knew was related to the soul-piece in the gear. "Those sound like excellent ideas, and I think this is as good a place as any to look for the materials I need. I think it would be best if you showed me options of what I could use for the explosives and then we can decide which would work best for what I want if that's alright with you," Seneca suggests, looking just past the older woman at the shelves of metalworks. Kalina nods and then moves past Seneca to glance at the selection of raw sheet metal to find something they could potential use for the girl's projectile. She taps each metal, sending out a pulse of her cochlear magic to test the frequencies of each. "Well you would probably want to stay away from Kinesium or Adamantine, as they would want to retain their structure, and not break apart during the explosion, unless you want to pay for high grade explosive materials." She said as she pulls out a few scraps from different bins, piling one atop the other as sort of "swatches' for Seneca to examine. "Carbon steel is always a good choice for the shell,since it will be durable enough to take the force of firing, but weak enough to break out upon the explosion. Brass would be good to be used underneath the steel, as brass will expand during firing and help break apart the shell. As far as internal shrapnel..." She said as she makes her way back to Seneca, she holds out the small pieces of scrap metal as examples. "You could go with the traditional lead balls, it'd make your gauntlets heavier, but it is a soft metal and would be more likely to stay embedded in the target, rather than passing through it." She hands off the lead scrap metal, holding up two different pieces before continuing. "If you want something that would slice through something like a hot knife on butter, you can go with either a Tungsten composite or an Iridosmium composite." "Now, Tungsten is probably the heaviest of any metal, so it may weigh down your punching speed, but it'll cut through anything. It has a high melting point and is very conductive. So you could try and add in an electrical component to it to make it like a stun grenade. Iridosmium would be the favored choice in my opinion, since it's extremely durable, has a higher melting point than Tungsten, and is non ferrous. The downside is that it can be highly toxic if it gets into the bloodstream, so if you don't have an antidote on hand, you can hurt someone. Buutttt..." she said drawn out, handing the last two swatches to Seneca, "I would be able to get you a discount on the Iridosmium materials, since my family has ownership of one of the mines outside of Crocus." She says with a slight laugh, thankful for her father's influence. Seneca watches as the brunette begins inspecting the metals, only half-listening as her mind began to go ahead of the current situation. There was a lot that she had to keep in mind for this, she had to think of the explosive's usage in the field and in the S-Class Trials coming up. She didn't want anything getting stuck beneath the skin, it did have the potential to incapacitate her opponent much faster but that where all the fun came from. "The Iridosmium and Tungsten seem to be my best bets," she says, taking those pieces of scrap metal in her hand. She could work with open wounds, she could make her opponent's cripple and break down with a wound the size of a pin-head, this would be no different. "The stun grenade would be a good use of the Tungsten and lightning seems to be an unfavorable element amongst dark mages so the chances they could resist it are low." How she would generate an electrical current, she had no idea, but between herself and Kalina, they could figure something out. "Iridosmium seems to be the stronger option though and the toxicity could prove just as useful. How long would I have to inject the antidote before the effects became irreversible?" She doesn't take into account how much it will cost, she wouldn't be receiving the bill and her father wouldn't dare confront her about it for fear of what she might do. Kalina let out a laugh, "Yeah lightning is not that favorable for most people, but it shouldn't be too hard to do something like a lightning lacrima or stun gun apparatus inside the grenade." She said as she thought to how Seneca's comment made her feel a bit more comfortable about her magic in the upcoming events. "And glad you chose Iridosmium, since I can get you a good deal of the metal and the antidote; but I guess that kind of takes away my trump card too. Oh well!" She says shrugging her shoulders with a smile, knowing that she will have to brainstorm potential challenges once more and come up with different counters. "But the antidote's effects are dependent on the amount of Iridosmium that makes it into the system. But with the concentrations used in weaponry, it will generally work up to one day after the initial exposure. So it shouldn't be that big of an issue as long as you have a dose on you." Seneca nods along, the light sound of Kalina's contagious happiness working a slight grin on her face. "Thank you for the help, Kalina," she says, genuine gratitude shining through her tone, unlike the biting sarcasm she used whenever Brick for Brains offered his 'help' however helpful it might have actually been. "If there's something you want to get, I'll wait and then we can go up to the counter together," she suggests, waiting for the smaller woman to act and following after her. As the pair purchased the raw materials, Seneca's thoughts push her to ask the young Inari for more of her time, a feeling she was familiar with but one she knew was unrelated to any butterflies one might experience when meeting someone of physical or emotional intrigue. It wasn't soft nor did it make her head fuzzy, she felt focused and every part of her began to work in overdrive to begin to prepare for the fight she was already thinking of. "Kalina, after I get my gauntlets redone to incorporate the explosives, I want to test out their accuracy. Would you like to be my sparring partner?" She asks, glancing out the window to see how much time remained. The glass, though marked with grime through the years, still allowed the bright, afternoon sun to shine through, showing they would have more than ample time to spar. "My gauntlets are easy to adjust, it will take an hour at most. We can meet at the guild and spar there," she suggests, her lips quirking up to make her offer of a fight seem more appealing. She wanted to get a brief look at her guildmate's fighting style, to prepare to fight against or with her, whatever the future held for the pair of them. Additionally, the thought of battling against one of the children of the prestigious Inari House set her nerves ablaze, made her senses all the more aware of every vibration beneath her bare feet. While only friendly, the fight would give her a fair assessment of abilities, strengths, and weaknesses she could use to her advantage... or she could inform the brunette on how to improve, as would be the kind thing to do after Kalina showed her such kindness. While Seneca wasn't known for her excessive kindness, she didn't want to be indebted to the brunette either and decided she would at least help her a little bit. Having already bought her item for her own gauntlets, Kalina nodded her head to take up Seneca on the offer of a spar, eager to see the girl's skills. With a soft wave goodbye, Kalina made her way back toward the guild, brainstorming potential strategies of how to counter the gauntlets that would sure come into place. Considering the fact that she knew a portion of the metal that came equipped in them, she could easily counter its construction with her Cochlear Magic. But the somewhat unknown factors would definitely trip her up and force her to think on her feet. Kalina let out a heavy sigh as she plopped down on the grassy area behind the guild, pushing the strategical aspect of their spar aside to focus her attention on stretching and fitting her gauntlets with the new blades she just bought. Seneca waved goodbye to Kalina and purchased the materials for her gauntlets. After talking with the shop owner for a bit, they pair of them began working on the small projectiles, the shop owner's experience with Metal Magic allowing the process to occur much faster. After everything was finished, Seneca thanked them and left a few extra bills behind before heading towards the guild. She left her bag of extra projectiles in her room and then went out to the guild's back yard, quickly spotting Kalina as its only inhabitant. She walked over to her, extending her hand out to her to help her up. "Any rules or limitations you wanna set other than the standard?" She asks, hoping the answer would be no. She wanted to test her skills against Kalina, not just her gauntlets or their new addition, though if that was what the young Inari wanted, she would comply without complaint. Kalina appreciated the help up and gladly jumped up to her feet. At the suggestion of limitations Kalina thought of putting up some limits, but she truly wanted to test herself against one of the most formidable opponents in the S Class Trials on full blast. "No I don't think we need any rules aside from the common courtesy of not hurting each other severely. Ya know, stuff that can't be solved with Healing Magic." She said with a slight laugh, as she adjusted the fittings on her gauntlets, leaving them in the unlocked stage for now so she had access to her lightning. "Doesn't mean I want you to hold back on me though. So I will give you the honor of the first move." Kalina said with a smirk as she only puts about five or six feet between them, and brings her arms up in a defensive stance. Seneca nods, releasing a small pulse of her Magic Origin into the earth beneath her bare feet, allowing a collection of information to bounce back at her through the usage of her Earthen Sense, giving her a clear 'view' of the terrain around and beneath her. With this knowledge in mind, she hit the ground running, punctuating her first step forward with a sharp hit to the ground, releasing a burst of Magic into the earth. Less than a second following her initial movement, three earthen spikes erupt from the ground, one on either side of Kalina and a third behind her. As they close in, Seneca goes straight towards Kalina's front, winding up a wind-augmented punch, aimed just beneath her ribs to knock the wind out of her should it connect, though she was careful not to use so much force that she fractured bones or severely bruised Kalina. She intended to test Kalina, see where she stood in comparison to the Dragon Slayer, and the omnidirectional attack would give her a great chance to test her reflexes and how well she could take a hit if Seneca managed to land one on her. Kalina is a bit surprised at the speed of Seneca's movement, her reliance on the propulsion of the earth is similar to the speeds that Kalina can achieve with her Synaptic Acceleration; though Kalina wonders if the ease of her acceleration comes for the level playing field they are currently on. Keeping that in mind for later, Kalina sees that Seneca intends to trap her with a three way earth wall, with her only escape being towards wind backed punch. Not wanting to give in to Seneca so easily, Kalina integrates her magic into every cell of her body separate positively charged particles from her body and positions them to create a certain extent of an electrical field within her. When the electrical field becomes active, its powerful electric potential difference draws the negatively charged particles that make up her body toward the positively charged particles of the field with tremendous force. This allows her to turn herself into a lightning bolt, using her energy to shoot herself around the body of the girl before her, her body reforming being Seneca to get the upperhand with the momentum of the fight. Activating her sonokinetic gauntlets, Kalina uses her Cochlear Magic to send sound waves into the gauntlets, altering their pitch until it reaches the correct frequency to amplify the force of her blow and deal substantial force. Typically this pulse of sound from her Techno Fists feels like a freight train hitting dead on in the chest, as well as having the potential to rupture the ear drum of a target that is hit, but Kalina tones it down as to only cause bruising if it were to hit dead on. Without a moments delay from her transformation, Kalina aims her Techno Fists with a first blow to the lower back near the kidneys, with a quick follow by extends two fingers coursing with electricity towards the vegas nerve located in the neck to slow down and disorientate Seneca. She finishes off with an upwards knee thrust towards Seneca's right thigh, keeping her arms up in a guard for the inevitability of a reverse elbow blow. Category:Roleplay